桃李满天下

Origin and story

Bai Juyi uses the exact expression in his Tang poem responding to a distinguished lord's planting of flowers at Lüyetang. He asks why more flowers are needed before the hall when the lord's peaches and plums already fill the world. The praise turns cultivated trees into an image of people who have benefited from someone's guidance or support: their flourishing is a greater garden than the plants outside a residence. This poetic use is not an account of literally planting trees across the country. In modern speech the phrase especially honors teachers whose many students have gone on to build lives in different places.